"Senpai, do you really not know her?"
On the way back, Yuuki Asuna asked with a hint of curiosity.
"I don't. I've never met her."
Sato shook his head in confusion.
"But it didn't seem like she was lying."
"Maybe she'd seen you somewhere before, Sato."
Nishimiya Shouko thought for a moment before offering her guess.
By the time they returned to the apartment, it was already nearing evening.
Looking at the cherry trees that were gradually losing the last of their blossoms, Sato fell into thought.
"Senpai?"
Yuuki Asuna looked at him after he suddenly stopped walking.
After thinking for a moment, Sato said,
"Don't you think this empty yard ought to be put to better use?"
"Hm?"
Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko exchanged glances before looking around the yard.
"Are you thinking about landscaping, Senpai?"
"No, no. I was thinking of planting some fruit trees. It feels like a shame for the cherry blossoms to just fade away."
"Fruit trees?"
"Yeah. By autumn they'd be loaded with fruit. That really gives you the feeling of autumn. Persimmons or apples, for example, all bright red..."
The two girls looked around the yard again.
"It is pretty empty. If we're not planting things like podocarpus for landscaping, fruit trees wouldn't be a bad idea."
Perhaps because his inner foodie had awakened, Sato enthusiastically continued,
"For example, we could replace those bushes in the corner with blueberries or raspberries. Maybe even plant a whole border of strawberries."
"Then we could build a grape trellis along the fence. In summer, we could sit beneath the vines and enjoy the shade while the grapes hang overhead..."
Aoyama Apartments occupied a large plot of land, surrounded by a perimeter wall. Along the base of the wall was a row of lush green shrubs.
The apartment building itself stood in the center, with spacious front and back yards. Aside from a few thriving cherry trees in the corners, the open space was largely empty.
Once cherry blossom season ended, the entire apartment complex felt rather plain.
Standing in the front yard, Sato talked for quite a while.
Yuuki Asuna and Nishimiya Shouko listened with interest, occasionally adding their own ideas.
Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a voice from behind.
"What are you all blocking the entrance for?"
Gabriel stood behind them looking utterly listless.
She carried a shopping bag stuffed full of snacks, and her blonde hair was such a mess it looked like a bird's nest.
As she spoke, she yawned sleepily, looking as though she still hadn't fully woken up.
"I was thinking of planting some fruit trees in the yard."
"Fruit trees, huh? Sounds good... Can we eat them whenever we want?"
"What?"
"I mean, once they're ripe, can we just help ourselves?"
"Of course."
"Good. Now, Mr. Landlord, could you move aside?"
"Oh. After you."
Sato stepped aside to let Gabriel pass.
Opposite the apartment entrance was the pebble path beneath their feet, with green lawns stretching along both sides.
"Oh, right, Gabriel. Have you cleaned your room yet? I'll go inspect it later."
Gabriel, who had almost reached the stairs, suddenly froze.
She slowly turned around and looked at Sato with an expression that seemed to ask, Are you the devil?
Then she grabbed her shopping bag and sprinted upstairs as fast as she could.
"Who was that...?"
Yuuki Asuna watched Gabriel disappear upstairs curiously.
Gabriel rarely left her room, so despite living here for two weeks already, Asuna had never seen her before.
"Gabriel. A usel... a useless person."
Sato had been about to say "useless angel," but quickly caught himself and changed his wording.
A useless person?!
Yuuki Asuna looked at Sato in surprise, clearly not expecting such an evaluation from him.
I thought she was another enemy...
She quietly let out a sigh of relief.
...
It was the weekend.
Although the weather had already been getting warmer, today's temperature had suddenly jumped another five or six degrees.
The sky was a brilliant blue beneath the blazing sun.
The gentle breeze carried not only the faint fragrance of flowers, but also the warmth of early summer.
Ring... Ring...
The wind chime hanging by the window gave off a clear, pleasant sound.
It was a pale blue wind chime, with a deep blue feather hanging from its center.
In the living room.
Sato picked up Nishimiya Yuzuru's workbook and flipped through a few pages.
His expression immediately became solemn.
After a long silence, he put the workbook down and looked at Nishimiya Yuzuru with a complicated expression.
The girl sitting across from him seemed a little embarrassed.
She pressed her knees together and turned her head slightly to one side.
"I knew your grades were bad, but I didn't expect them to be this bad."
Sato couldn't help complaining.
"No, I should say they're unbelievably bad."
"Then just give up!"
Yuzuru turned back toward him and stubbornly retorted.
Sato glanced at her before setting the workbook aside.
He looked into her bright violet eyes.
Although Nishimiya Yuzuru and Nishimiya Shouko had different eye colors, both of them had beautiful eyes, clear and sparkling like precious gemstones.
"I've always believed that as long as someone is a normal human being, there's no knowledge they can't learn."
Sato raised an eyebrow slightly and calmly stated his position.
The people who create knowledge are only a tiny handful, as few as a single handful of sand scooped from the world's largest desert.
But learning knowledge is something any normal person can do.
What they lack may simply be time, or perhaps the right method.
"So, as long as you're a normal person, that's enough."
"Now bring your ears and your brain, and listen."
Sato placed the notes and practice problems he had just organized in front of Yuzuru and began explaining them.
Only his voice echoed through the spacious room.
Although Yuzuru wore an expression full of impatience, under Sato's supervision she still listened.
To her surprise...
She realized she actually understood what he was saying.
The discovery astonished her.
Could I actually be a genius?!
A tremendous misunderstanding took root in her mind.
Sato glanced at her and suddenly said,
"Japan's school curriculum isn't difficult. If you're not aiming for a college preparatory high school or a prestigious university, there's really no need to attend cram school. The material taught in school isn't hard."
"You know what I'm thinking?!"
Yuzuru stared at Sato in shock.
The corner of Sato's mouth twitched.
"It's written all over your face."